Stress Appears To Lower A Woman’s Chances Of Getting Pregnant, Study Finds.
There are so few studies focused on stress and fertility. We know from working daily with patients struggling to become pregnant, that stress is a huge factor. This study does show that stress around ovulation may be more important. This is an epidemiologic study and has some limitations. While it is clear that stress decreases the signals from the brain to the ovary, I would offer that our experience suggests that there must be a direct effect somewhere in the reproductive tract, most likely the endometrium. Nature would most likely want to quickly prevent pregnancy for the woman with the acute onset or persistent chronic stress. Sadly, what is not well known is caffeine or adderall/vyvanse create the same stress .
Michael D. Fox, MD
Jacksonville Center
Reproductive Medicine